ROOKIE center Greg Slaughter bounced back from a quiet series opener with an overpowering Game Two performance to lead Barangay Ginebra to a vengeful 93-64 victory over San Mig, leveling their PLDT myDSL-PBA Philippine Cup semifinal series at 1-1 on Friday night.
The 6-11 big man out of Ateneo played inspired basketball from the get-go, pumping in 15 of his game-high 21 points in the first half alone to help the Gin Kings take a 48-32 halftime lead, setting the tone for a mismatch witnessed by a roaring crowd at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The gentle Ginebra giant, who added 12 rebounds, scored on a variety of shots - short jumpers, nifty layups and even wide-open dunks off well-executed pick and roll plays, mocking San Mig’s interior defense to the delight of 19,279 paying fans that came to witness the carnage.
“I think our adjustment maganda, and also, maganda ang defense namin,” said Ginebra coach Ato Agustin after a game that became so lopsided San Mig coach Tim Cone pulled out his starters one after the other long before the final buzzer.
The win was a strong bounce-back game for the Gin Kings, who dropped an 83-85 decision to the Mixers in Game One on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Agustin credited his starters for coming out strong from the very beginning, while commending his shock troopers for sustaining the gains they had to the very end.
“Maganda ang start namin. Imagine we were able to limit their offense to 60 plus points in the game, which is a good sign for us. Tapos yung second group ko, they were able to play well so nakapag-pahinga yung starters,” he added.
Ginebra shot 51.3 percent from the field, while its unforgiving defense held San Mig to a series-low 33.8 field goal shooting. The Gin Kings also dominated the Mixers off both boards for a change, 55-32.
On the other hand, the Gin Kings’ bench routed their Mixers counterpart, 44-10.
Peter June Simon led San Mig with 16 points while Marc Pingris added 15, although he only had four rebounds.
The scores:
Ginebra 93 - Slaughter 21, Helterbrand 11, Tenorio 10, Mamaril 10, Reyes 8, Caguioa 8, Aguilar 7, Monfort 5, Ellis 4, Faundo 4, Baracael 3, Forrester 2, Ababou 0.
San Mig 64 - Simon 16, Pingris 15, Yap 14, Barroca 7, De Ocampo 3, Acuna 3, Mallari 3, Devance 2, Cawaling 1, Gaco 0, Sangalang 0, Melton 0, Holstein 0, Reavis 0.
Quarterscores: 24-19, 48-32, 69-53, 93-64
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